Microsoft has released the Windows 8.1 preview for download, but they region-locked it to 13 specific languages, and Dutch is not one of them. So, even though my Surface RT has been completely and utterly English from the day I bought it, I can't install Windows 8.1 and tell you something about it. Those of you who can download it, why don't you tell us what it's like - or you can head to The Verge who got early access. In case you couldn't tell, I'm a little annoyed that we're arbitrarily being left out once again.

Okay, so I installed it. It took about an hour (and two reboots), which seems a step back considering how quickly 8 can upgrade from 7.

A few thoughts/observations:

After installation, it asked to verify my account with two-factor authentication. Yes, I have my account linked to my Live account, and I'm not sure what happens if you click the "Do this later" button.

My mouse settings disappeared, which is horrible because my Logitech mouse has the most insanely shitty defaults I could imagine. They are really, really bad.

For the included artwork for the start screen backgrounds, you can now change the background color and the foreground color separately.

Hot Corners can be disabled.

The Start Button cannot be removed. This is lame, as I've grown accustomed to it not being there, and now it takes up space on the task bar I'd it didn't, and the icon I have in the bottom left is no longer in the bottom left.

Start Screen scroll performance seems to have taken a step back.

Far more settings are adjustable from within the Metro settings panel, but certain advanced settings are not. For example, I can change the amount of time it takes to turn off my screen when my computer is, depending on whether I'm plugged in or not, as well as standby time, but not hard-drive spin-down speed, nor is there a place to change which plan I'm using and changing.

EDIT: Settings for hot-corners are available in taskbar settings.
Also, that is one place to find the option to boot to desktop rather than the start screen, and show the all-apps list instead of start screen tiles, as well as how those are sorted.

I don't understand how they haven't standardized an interface for Mouse/Trackpad gestures yet. Its killing Windows 8.

I go to Best Buy and one trackpad on a laptop scrolls vertically if I swipe it vertically. The laptop right next to it scrolls horizontally if I swipe it horizontally. The laptop next to that scrolls in some apps and not in others.